Boycott KFC

[shereads]

I know we all sometimes laugh about PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, but CBS News just showed film footage provided by them of animal torture at a Pilgrims Pride chicken slaughter house that supplies Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Nothing deserves to be tortured like this. There are workers laughing as they take turns throwing live birds against a wall, not killing them until they've played with the injured animals for a while.

The PETA member who worked undercover to film the abuse said these "games" were routine, when workers at the plant are either bored or angry because another truckload of birds had arrived and they're forced to work late.

PETA is asking people to pressure the government to envoke some standard for humane treatment of animals raised for food. Currently, they are exempted from animal cruelty laws, so there is no legal recourse against the people in this sickening video.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

I'm in.
There's no need for that.
I always wonder what kind of person could be so cruel. Now I know.

Thanks sher.

 

[Weird Harold]

I know we all sometimes laugh about PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals, but CBS News just showed film footage provided by them of animal torture at a Pilgrims Pride chicken farm that supplies Kentucky Fried Chicken.

I have a very, very, very low opinion of PETA and consider ANY information that came from that organization highly suspect. I would not put it past them to have staged the video.

However, the allegations should be investigated because such casual cruelty as you describe is often an indicator that the perpetrator(s) lack basic humn decency whether they're legitimate employees of Pligrim's Pride/KFC or plants by PETA the actions described are reprehensible and the individuals should be identified.

Currently, they are exempted from animal cruelty laws, so there is no legal recourse against the people in this sickening video.

While the company may be exempt, the individuals are NOT, because the actions described are NOT part of raising the animals for food.

 

[Wildcard Ky]

I'm in agreement with WH on anything that comes from Peta, but on this one they are correct. KFC isn't disputing this video, and is looking to take action against this sub contractor. KFC has already said that as a first step they want the employees that were in the video fired.

It's worth noting that this wasn't KFC itself, it was a company that supplies chickens to KFC. This company has had allegations of animal cruelty in the past, but they were never proveable. That's why PETA sent an undercover operative in to try and get some video.

Aside from demanding that the involved employees be fired, KFC is re-opening past investigations of abuse in this company.

It's up to you whether you choose to boycott KFC, I just thought it was worth noting that they are attempting to do something about it. I'm not a vegan, and I'm an avid hunter. Even with that I don't believe in cruelty or abuse of animal. This was both.

 

[Wicked-N-Erotic]

I and the family just finished supper and I thought I'd stop in the AH for a look at what is new. I feel sick to my stomach now after seeing this thread and the other one about KFC. We have not eaten there in eons and wanted something different tonight. Give you one guess what we had for supper


green in the face

Wicked

 

[shereads]

I and the family just finished supper and I thought I'd stop in the AH for a look at what is new. I feel sick to my stomach now after seeing this thread and the other one about KFC. We have not eaten there in eons and wanted something different tonight. Give you one guess what we had for supper


green in the face

Wicked

Sorry.



I once found myself watching "Babe" while enjoying the best Chinese spareribs I've ever eaten. Animal lovers and anyone who respects living things have to choose our own level of denial when we feed ourselves. To my mind, there's nothing wrong with killing animals for an essential purpose - food and by-products of animals killed for food - as long as it's done without unnecessary suffering. My options include paying a bit more for free-range chicken and free-range eggs, and eating poultry less often to pay for the difference (large-scale modern chicken farms cram the animals into such tight spaces that their beaks have to be snipped to keep them from killing each other) and eating only the fries but no burger when my car, against my will, enters the drive-through at McDonalds. That, because I read "Fast Food Nation" and learned that the US allows a kill-rate at meat-packing plants that's substantially higher than other developed countries, which not only results in incidents where an animal is not dead when it's hung on the meat hook, but also makes the industry one of the most dangerous for workers.

(Not to mention exposing the meat to more of what is now allowable "fecal matter" as long as it has no "visible fibrous structure.")



Wild, I'm glad KFC has responded with appropriate panic to the video. PETA, for all its wierdness, sometimes performs a heroic function. How much fun could it have been for the animal-lover who made that video to work in that environment and say nothing.

There's been another video like that one recently exposing cruel conditions in the kennels at Iams, which happens to be the dog food I've been giving my pup for 12 years. Iams, unlike Pilgrims Pride and KFC, have not commented. I'm giving the puppies the benefit of the doubt and switching to another dog food until I find out it was a scam.

 

[Guest]

i dunno.. uneducated in this arena..
im frankly shocked that KFC serves real chicken... i just thought it was processed immitation sumphin with a bit of boullion ...

i dont eat there anyway.. not after watching how the people who work there are a) treated.. b) im fairly certain they dont wash their hands.. my little quirks.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

I'm in on the boycott. I use to order KFC once a week but not anymore. Since the grocer I use only sells Pilgrims Pride, well, no more chicken until the boycott is over.

 

[shereads]

I'm in on the boycott. I use to order KFC once a week but not anymore. Since the grocer I use only sells Pilgrims Pride, well, no more chicken until the boycott is over.

Thank you. Not only for agreeing, but for having the grace to say it here. You rule.

Vella, you'd be amazed at what they put chickens through to make McNuggets. Those aren't chunks of processed chicken, those are compressed whole birds.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

Video Shows KFC Supplier Harming Chickens



By BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An investigator for an animal rights group captured video of chickens being kicked, stomped and thrown against a wall by workers at a supplier for Kentucky Fried Chicken.


The footage, released online Tuesday, was secretly taken at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Moorefield, W.Va., by an investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals who worked there from October to May.


PETA said its investigator also obtained eyewitness testimony about employees "ripping birds' beaks off, spray-painting their faces, twisting their heads off, spitting tobacco into their mouths and eyes, and breaking them in half — all while the birds are still alive."


Pilgrim's Pride spokesman Ray Atkinson said the company is appalled by what it saw on the video, has reopened a previous investigation into complaints of chicken mistreatment and will fire any employees who are found to have violated company policies on animal welfare.


"These actions are completely contrary to all of our company's practices and policies regarding the humane treatment of poultry," Atkinson said.


KFC spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer said in a statement that KFC told Pilgrim's Pride it will buy no more chickens from its Moorefield plant unless the supplier provides assurances that the abuses are no longer taking place.


KFC also said it has hired an inspector trained in animal welfare investigations whose job will be to prevent similar abuses at the plant.


PETA has been pressuring KFC since last year, when it sued the company and called for a boycott, demanding that KFC require suppliers to treat animals more humanely. The group has recently won similar concessions from other major fast-food chains, including McDonald's and Burger King.


PETA said it wants West Virginia authorities to prosecute plant employees and managers under state animal-cruelty laws. The animal rights group filed a complaint with Hardy County Prosecutor Lucas See in Moorefield, who did not immediately return a call Tuesday.


___

 

[shereads]

PETA said its investigator also obtained eyewitness testimony about employees "ripping birds' beaks off, spray-painting their faces, twisting their heads off, spitting tobacco into their mouths and eyes, and breaking them in half — all while the birds are still alive."

<snip>

PETA said it wants West Virginia authorities to prosecute plant employees and managers under state animal-cruelty laws. The animal rights group filed a complaint with Hardy County Prosecutor Lucas See in Moorefield, who did not immediately return a call Tuesday.

Oh, holy god. I had no idea. I saw the edited-for-family-viewing version on CBS News. Can you imagine finding out that one of your neighbors who worked at that plant was in on this?

I'll never make another joke about PETA.

 

[Xelebes]

I'm not sure who supplies the chicken for KFC Canada but I'll be sure to check it out.

 

[Liar]

Not KFC (I don't think there are any on this continent?), but there was an episode of jail sentences and general uproar over the same kind of behaviour at several poultry farms over here some years ago. What is it with chicken that makes those people blow their lids?

#L

 

[Guest]

 

[ferociouskittycat]

QUOTE]

Maybe KFC need to restore their credibility by changing suppliers.

Personally, I can't resist all those yummy, succulent breasts...

 

[DirtyJJ]

I have been in on a KFC boycott for a while at the persuasion of my sister who learned about the freakishly high amounts of antibiotics and growth hormones they pump into the chickens to make them "ready to eat" more quickly - I am sure they are not the only ones to do that but between that and the video that came out, I won't be doing KFC.

I also do cage free eggs after learning about how chickens are treated at egg farms.

DJJ

 

[steve w]

There was a big article on this in the UK newspaper "The Independent" (Sorry, haven't got a link for ya).

This was truly disgusting. Don't buy into any claims by Pilgrim that it was some kind of maverick thing they didn't know about. One part of the video shows a supervisor ordering the workers to stop - but only so that he can walk past without getting splattered - then instructing them to "carry on". This had the acquiescence of the corporation.

If everyone stopped going to KFC for just one day, you can be damn sure they'd bully their suppliers into cleaning up their animal welfare act. They certainly come down hard on, oh, costs, or paying workers decent wages. Once KFC's share price starts plummeting because people aren't going to their crappy "restaurants", they'll shift their complacent asses.

 

[marshalt]

Torturing the animals makes them taste better.

 

[ABSTRUSE]

This takes place in a plant in W.Va. are they going to go and check out other plants owned by this company I wonder?

 

[ABSTRUSE]

update

KFC Supplier Suspends Worker Over Video





CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A supplier for Kentucky Fried Chicken suspended a worker without pay and is investigating three others after an animal rights group released video of workers kicking, stomping and throwing birds against walls at a West Virginia plant.


Pilgrim's Pride President and Chief Operating Officer O.B. Goolsby said in a statement late Tuesday that in addition to the suspension and investigation, the company has ordered managers at all 25 of its plants in the nation to take time out on each shift to educate workers about animal welfare policies.


Employees who handle live birds must sign a document saying they understand the zero-tolerance policy for animal cruelty, he said.


Company spokesman Ray Atkinson did not immediately return a telephone call Wednesday morning seeking additional comment on the disciplinary action.


The footage, released online Tuesday, was secretly taken at the Pilgrim's Pride plant in Moorefield by an investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals who worked there from October to May.


Hardy County Prosecutor Lucas See said Wednesday that he has received videotapes from PETA but has not reviewed them yet. PETA wants West Virginia authorities to prosecute plant employees and managers.


Dan Shannon, a spokesman for PETA, applauded the Pilgrim's Pride disciplinary action Wednesday at a news conference in Louisville, Ky., but said it doesn't solve the problem.


"It's a step in the right direction but it's all part of the Band-Aid approach," he said.


Under state law, employees found to have mistreated the animals solely for torture could be charged with felony animal cruelty, which carries a possible prison sentence of one to three years and as much as $5,000 in fines.


KFC spokeswoman Bonnie Warschauer said in a statement Tuesday that KFC told Pilgrim's Pride it will buy no more chickens from its Moorefield plant unless the supplier provides assurances that the abuses are no longer taking place.


KFC also said it has hired an inspector trained in animal welfare investigations whose job will be to prevent similar abuses at the plant.


PETA said its investigator at the West Virginia plant also obtained eyewitness testimony about employees "ripping birds' beaks off, spray-painting their faces, twisting their heads off, spitting tobacco into their mouths and eyes, and breaking them in half — all while the birds are still alive."


PETA has been pressuring KFC since last year, when it sued the company and called for a boycott, demanding that KFC require suppliers to treat animals more humanely. The group has recently won similar concessions from other major fast-food chains, including McDonald's and Burger King.


___

 

[CharleyH]

Video Shows KFC Supplier Harming Chickens

By BRETT BARROUQUERE, Associated Press Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - An investigator for an animal rights group captured video of chickens being kicked, stomped and thrown against a wall by workers at a supplier for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Yes, I suppose KFC and McDonalds are the only restaurants that purchase from these and other suppliers et. al.

Why stop at boycotting them, why not boycott every restaurant and grocery store?

 

[shereads]

Not KFC (I don't think there are any on this continent?), but there was an episode of jail sentences and general uproar over the same kind of behaviour at several poultry farms over here some years ago. What is it with chicken that makes those people blow their lids?

#L

Helplessness?

 

[shereads]

Yes, I suppose KFC and McDonalds are the only restaurants that purchase from these and other suppliers et. al.

Why stop at boycotting them, why not boycott every restaurant and grocery store?

Whatever works.

Apparenty KFC has pressured their supplier to clean up its act, since the video showed up on the nightly news.

 

[BlackSnake]

When I was a kid, we use to get chickens by the truck load.

We grab a chicken by the neck, twirl it around and then snap the head off. The chicken would run around for a while without its head.

My mother and aunts would grab the birds and use a meat-cleaver on their necks.

It was entertaining, except when it came to plucking them. The smell lasted for nearly a week, but there was enough chicken to last the summers.

Still it was a lot more fun the shelling pees or even picking blackberries (the kind of black snakes with fangs).

I think people should be able to find something in their work that is fun and entertaining.

I would think that the workers didn't think what they were doing was cruel to the chickens.

ed. to add:
We did not kick or toss the chickens against tress or something (all done outside), it was to eat. Seafood gets old after a while (Southern Gulf Coast baby).

 

[shereads]

I think people should be able to find something in their work that is fun and entertaining.

I would think that the workers didn't think what they were doing was cruel to the chickens.

It's "fun and entertaining" to drag out the death of a frightened animal by cutting off its beak, kicking it, throwing it, breaking it in two?

Are you aware that there's a connection between childhood torture of animals and adult torture/murder of children and other people?